Questions that Lead to Love
by ZupertrixNovels
Summary: Kind of goofed up some formatting and realized there were some scene transitions that weren't clear. Sorry about that. Been wanting to write a story on these two. EllieDina. Femslash. Rated M for language. Enjoy!
1. Chapter I

**A/N:** I was reading through this again and realized there was a transition that didn't make any sense. It was because I merged this chapter with another in the original draft. Sorry about that. This story will be from Ellie's POV unless otherwise stated.

Rated M mostly for language. I will give warning if it ends up being for more later on.

Lesbian relationships. Don't like, don't read. And I don't own any of the characters, they're owned by Naughty Dog.

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy.

2034 - SPRING

A light breeze rustles through the nearby terrain, shaking branches and making a whistling noise as it moves. I stare down at my right forearm, which is blistered and red from the infection that never fully took hold, while sitting in the driver's seat of the pickup. My mind tricks me into thinking I should feel pain as my fingers lightly rake over the mark, but I am confused when I only feel what seems to be another area of skin, just blemished.

There are dozens like me. There is no cure. How can that be?

The slam of the truck's hood shakes me out of my line of thought.

"Well." Joel says, before walking around the open driver's door to look at me. "Looks like we're walking."

I look up to see him wringing his hands together as if waiting for a response of some kind. Perhaps he is just cleaning them off. I hop off the driver's seat and shut the door, as he turns and starts walking toward a barbed wire fence.

"Should be a straight shot through here." Joel says, gesturing towards the area behind the fence.

"Alright." I say.

"Actually kinda pretty, ain't it?" Joel asks, putting a boot up onto a string of barbed wire.

"Yeah." I say.

I walk up and stop a couple feet from him.

"Alright." Joel says, before putting some force on the wire with his boot and grabbing another with his hands, pulling them apart so I can get through. "Now watch your head going through."

I crouch through the opening and work my way through. When I have made it through I assume his position on the other side and hold the wires in place.

"Here… got it." I say, grunting as he lets go on his side.

He groans as he crouches through the opening to the other side.

"Oh… Feeling my age now." He says.

I only hum in response as we continue our way up the trail.

"I don't think I ever told you but Sarah and I used to take hikes like this." Joel says, before hopping over a log.

I follow him over the log, deciding I'll remain silent and seeing if he'll continue.

"I think ah… I think the two of you would've been good friends." Joel says, hoisting himself onto a small cliff. "Think you really woulda liked her. I know she woulda liked you."

"Bet I would've." I say.

Joel's openness is unexpected to say the least. Is he being more open because… we've gone through hell with no resolution? I just don't understand. Can I trust what he said?

"Wow, look down there." Joel says, reaching a small river and waterfall that overlooks Jackson. "Just a little bit further now."

Jackson is bigger than I remember. It's only been about six months since we were last here, but it seems to have doubled in size. Perhaps I'm just remembering wrong. It's hard to believe that so much has happened in so short a time. Everything we went through. I never thought I'd be coming back here but I at least thought that I'd be helping to stop this fucked up world from continuing as it has.

Joel climbs onto a partially fallen tree, which fully collapses after him, to reach a cliff.

"Shit." He says, before turning around to offer me a hand. "Here. I got you."

I jump up and grab onto his outstretched hand and forearm, before he hoists me up.

"Alright. Come on." He says, turning to continue into Jackson.

I am about to follow but I just can't stop thinking and I need to talk to him before we get around a bunch of other people.

"Hey, wait." I say, fidgeting with my hands.

Talking isn't my forte, especially talking with Joel. I sigh a little frustrated with myself and my inability to find words with him.

"Back in Boston - back when I was bitten…" I say. "I wasn't alone. My best friend was there. And she got bit too."

Joel stands there, stoic as always.

"We didn't know what to do. So… She says, 'Let's just wait it out. Y'know. We can be all poetic and just lose our minds together.'" I say. "I'm still waiting for my turn."

"Ellie" Joel says.

"Her name was Riley and she was the first to die." I say, continuing before he can object too much. "And then it was Tess. And then Sam."

"None of that is on you." Joel says.

"No. You don't understand." I say, frustrated that I didn't seem to be making my point clearly.

"I struggled for a long time with survivin'. And you—" Joel says, before stopping for a second. "No matter what, you keep finding something to fight for."

I turn away from him. I'm tired of fighting. I don't have something to fight for anymore. My mission is what I fought for and he has told me that my mission is over. Abandoned and not complete. I thought I was a cure to help stop all of this. I don't want to just find another person. And another. And another. Until everyone is dead but me. How can someone live that way? What's the goddamn point?

"Now, I know that's not what you want to hear right now, but it's—" Joel continues.

"Swear to me." I interrupt him. "Swear to me that everything that you said about the Fireflies is true."

Something in me just knew he was lying before in the truck. Why would Marlene have been trying so hard to get her there? If there were so many immune, how had they not met anyone?

"I swear." Joel says, remaining steadfast.

Maybe Joel brought up Sarah to me because he's realized that I am the closest person to the daughter that he lost. I wonder if the Fireflies would've had to kill me for the cure and he couldn't let me go. I don't remember my parents but I imagine that it must be hard to lose a child; probably a lot like losing a best friend. ' _Keep finding something to fight for'_ … maybe I am his something to fight for.

Maybe he can be mine.

"Okay." I say.

* * *

Joel and I walk down into Jackson in silence.

"Hey, Tommy." Joel says, seeing Tommy walking in the courtyard through the gate.

Tommy pauses and turns toward the gate.

"Joel. You made it back. Everything go ok?" Tommy asks, signaling to the front office to open the gate, I guess.

"Yes." Joel says, looking down at me. "And no. We found the Fireflies but they've stopped looking for a cure."

"Hmm." Tommy says, simply. "Hey, Ellie. Why don't you go wait in the temporary holding building over there while Joel and I talk some things over."

"Aww, come on." I say.

"Ellie." Joel says, warning.

Is he serious right now? I glare at him before stomping over to the small building. I can feel their eyes on me so I throw the door open harder than normal and slam it behind me. I walk over to the back corner of the room and toss my backpack onto the floor.

This is bullshit. I can listen to anything that they could possibly say. I've almost been killed a dozen times over in the past six months. What could they possibly have to talk about that is too delicate for me to hear?

I sit on the cot and lay on my side, not tired but not wanting to pace back and forth down the main walkway.

An uncertain amount of time passes before I hear the door open and decide to ignore it. If it's Joel, he can explain why he sent me in here and if not they'll probably be uninterested in me.

I feel a grasp on my shoulder. Who's touching me? The touch feels nothing like Joel's. I grab the wrist and throw them over my shoulder.

They slam into the aluminum wall before sliding down and hitting the floor, groaning. I jump onto her stomach and grab her throat, pinning her down. She grabs each of my forearms, to relieve a little of the pressure I'm exerting on her throat. I look down closer at her, blinking slowly before releasing my grip on her throat. She coughs a couple of times, leaning onto her elbows.

"Dude, what the fuck? Are you ok?" She asks.

Her eyes are filled with slight confusion as I register what she said.

"Am—" I start. "Am I ok? What do you mean? Are YOU ok? I nearly choked you to death."

She chuckles beneath me.

"What's funny?" I ask.

"Sorry. It's just that after everything I've been through, I can't imagine going out like that." She explains.

"Oh really. Self-proclaimed badass, huh?" I say, crossing her arms.

"Something like that." She says.

I wonder what this girl is talking about. I know I'm kind of strange and intimidating but it'd be nice to have a friend. Joel is great but talking to him is… difficult. She looks up at me quizzically. It's at this time that my cheeks flush, realizing I'm still straddling her. She only smirks in response.

"So what are you doing in here anyways?" I ask, using the cot to push off and stand before offering her a hand.

She briefly debates grabbing my hand before she accepts it and I pull her up.

"I've been assigned to become your best friend." She deadpans.

"Oh, really?" I ask, amused.

"I'm here to give you a tour of the compound. I'm one of two girls our age and your comfort was stressed as a concern by Tommy." She says.

"What if I want to be friends with the other girl?" I ask, leaning down to grab my backpack, slinging it over my shoulder.

"You can try. You seem real nice." She says, nonchalantly, massaging her throat gently for good measure.

"Can I know the name of my new best friend?" I ask with amused acceptance, walking to the door.

"Dina." She says. "You're Ellie, right?"

I nod a couple times.

"Alright, let's get going." She says.

I hold the door open for her before exiting myself.

"How chivalrous." Dina says.

I only nod as we walk to the inner gate.

"Well, you just came from the temporary holding building, so I'm sure you know that better than me." She starts, and I smirk at her candor. "Behind that is the garage, where the gas is stored and where they keep the cars tuned up and junk. They also store extra house supplies there for repairs. Let's see over to the left of the front gate is where we keep the vehicles."

She points over to the stables. "Back there is the stable for the horses. Part of the stables is used for storage for food for the horses, chickens and cows."

She points to the main building. "That's the office, which I'm sure you saw a lot of. That's where the switch for the front and inner gates is. They also did some wiring that connects the dam up here for electricity." I nod and keep my eyes moving from what she's talking about and her. "Behind the office is the armory. We're all allowed to keep some weapons in our homes but you might be on probation for a little while until we get to know you."

We reach the inner gate and she waves to someone in the office. He nods before the buzz sounds, signaling the gate opening. Dina and I walk through and the gate quickly closes behind us.

"Alright well here to the left is the mess hall where you can get 2 meals a day. Not the best food but it's apparently pretty nutritious, or that's what they tell us anyway. If you go through the kitchen there's this massive pantry thing, where we store food that we find on runs. That'll probably be what you and Joel do." She says.

"Runs?" I ask.

"Yeah. You seem like you know how to handle yourself." She says.

"Oh." I say, my cheeks burning.

"So who's the guy?" Dina asks.

"He's my…" I start. "Joel."

She hums in acknowledgement.

"Hi there." A deep voice says to the side of Dina. "How are you doing beautiful? Who's your friend?"

"Hey babe. This is Ellie." Dina says, smiling. "Ellie. This is Jesse. He does shifts in the watchtowers and goes out to scavenge, too. So what are you up to today?"

I nod, uninterested as they continue to talk.

I pay attention as little as possible, not wanting to intrude on a conversation that has nothing to do with me. I wonder if Joel will want to stay here or if he'll want to leave in a —

I feel a touch on my shoulder and turn my head toward it before looking at Dina.

"You really just zoned out on me, huh? We were only talking for like thirty seconds." She asks, chuckling.

"Yeah." I say, shrugging. "Didn't want to intrude."

"What do you mean? He came up to us." She says.

I hum noncommittally. "So where were we? The chickens I think."

"They're next to the pantry/mess hall, and behind them is where we keep the cows. We've only got a couple now but we're hoping for more." Dina goes back to guiding me around and eyeing me curiously. "Here in front of us is the community hall. They'll play these old movies, hold dances, and a couple other things, usually once a week or so. There is the monthly dance on Friday. You should come." She says.

"Sorry I don't know if it'll really be my thing." I say.

"You're not really living up to this badass persona that I first thought." Dina says, smiling.

"I'm not?" I ask.

"Nope. To me, you seem…" Dina paused, putting a finger to her lips in contemplation. "Genuine."

Genuine? Really? I eye her confused at her word choice and she only shrugs. This girl is interesting.

"So…" She continues. "Connected to the community center is the clinic. It's small. Has two rooms and a small waiting area and then a storage closet that only the doctor and Tommy have access to. There's one doctor and she doesn't work on Sundays I believe, except for emergencies but other than that you'll find her there most of the time. The garden is behind the community center and clinic. It's a decent size. I work there most days." She says, to which I nod. "Other than that, the only other thing to know is that the houses are divided into 3 blocks. A, B & C. North side is A. East side is B. And South side is C. You and Joel are number 37 which is in block A."

We walk in relative silence after she finishes, walking me toward my home. I don't really know what to make of Dina. She's definitely the most interesting person I've met in a while. I wonder if we'll stay long or if we'll be on the move again soon. I think Joel wants to stay so I like the idea of getting to know this girl.

"How long have you guys been out there?" Dina asks.

"About a year. I hope they don't put me in the kitchen. I'm useless with cooking." I say.

"I like a self aware woman." She says, smirking.

"Me too." I say, without really thinking.

We come to a stop in front of one of the homes.

"Here we are." She says.

"Oh yeah? This is me?" I ask.

"Yep, you and Joel, for as long as you want it." She says.

I give her a look before she smiles.

"Alright well don't choke anybody to death. They probably won't be able to stop you like I was." She says. "You know, you are kind of intimidating."

I sigh, wondering if I've already scared this girl away. I walk up towards the front door.

"Hey." She calls.

I turn back to look at her.

"I think it's hot." She says, smirking before turning around and walking away.

 **A/N:** Wanted to start off light. This is the final scene of the first Last of Us more from Ellie's perspective and it moves on to the first time she meets Dina. There is a lot of speculation of whether Ellie knew Joel was lying to her at the end. I always had a feeling that she knew. Review if you desire.

Have a lovely day. I leave you with a quote.

"When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change." - Avatar Aang (LOK)


	2. Chapter II

A/N: I don't own any of the characters, they're owned by Naughty Dog. Enjoy.

2034 - FALL

 _Riley's eyes look empty of the life they once held, her mouth is hanging open and she groans at me._

" _Riley… no. You have to wait for me." I say._

 _Her shoulders twitch and then she seems to have become aware of me. She growls and starts walking toward me._

" _Stop. Don't make me do this. I can't." I say, holding the knife she gave me between us._

 _She lunges forward and I hold her back as she attempts to bite me. She wouldn't want to walk around the mall forever and possibly infect other people who come, right? I know that I wouldn't want that for myself. Her words come back to me._

' _Let's be all poetic and lose our minds together.'_

" _I'll be right behind you. I'm sorry." I say, adjusting my grip on the knife and bringing it swiftly into her temple._

I jump forward in my bed, holding a phantom knife and looking around the room, breathing erratically.

Joel was still asleep in the single on the opposite side of the room. Thankfully I hadn't screamed out loud because he surely would've woken up. I take a couple minutes to steady my breathing to the sounds of the rain outside. It totally sucks that it's been over a year since I lost her and I still have nightmares about Riley. I wonder if they'll ever go away. Do I really want them to?

I get up out of bed knowing I won't be able go back to sleep. The floor creaks softly. Joel turns over to his other side but seems to still be asleep. I grab a tank top and some jeans off the floor before leaving the room.

The first chill of the season hit last night and with it a heavy rainfall has followed for the last 24 hours, pattering against the window. The dirt outside has turned into mud.

I've got nothing better to do than to walk outside I guess, even if it is raining. Opening the door quietly, I exit the house and walk toward the inner gate. I walk along the inner fence but all I see are the usual watchtower lights shining out into the surrounding forest. After walking the perimeter of the inner compound I walk inward toward the garden. I've never really been inside, only seen it from the outside. The greenhouse has those foggy type window so you can't see all that clear either. I wonder if it's open at this hour?

Surprisingly, the doorknob twists open. I walk inside to get a better look. Do they just keep it open all the time? I hear some rustling towards the center. I guess there is someone in here. The door shuts behind me, rather loudly.

"Hello?" I hear a familiar voice. "Is someone in here?"

Should I answer?

"Hello?" They call again. Who does that voice belong to? It's very familiar.

"Hey, yeah. It's Ellie." I say.

The plants in front of me part and a face pops through. Dina. That's why it was familiar.

"Oh, hey, stranger." Dina says, smiling. "How you been?"

"Fine." I say, shoving my hands into my pockets.

I wasn't expecting someone to be up at this hour. Especially not working in the garden.

"Haven't seen you around much. You liking things here?" She asks.

"Yeah." I say. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"I…" She starts, before conceding. "…couldn't sleep."

"Yeah. Me neither." I say. "So what are you doing in here?"

She eyes me for a few seconds. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yeah." I say. "The more you know, the more likely you are to have a solution to a problem. Knowledge is power, right?"

Dina only looks at me more curiously and smiles.

"Ok, knowledge seeker, come on over. I'll teach you about the garden." She says, turning around and beckoning me to follow.

I nod, following her through the plants she disappeared behind.

"So, in here we've got corn, potatoes, lettuce and tomatoes. Nothing too fancy but it provides a break from the canned meals that are the main staple around here. And it helps prevent us from all getting scurvy, too." Dina says.

"Bonus." I say, causing Dina to giggle.

"You ever had a garden before?" She asks.

"Nope. I'm probably about as useful here as in the kitchen." I say.

"They haven't assigned you to the kitchen at all, have they?" She asks.

"No, for the good everyone here." I say.

"Good I told them not to." Dina says.

Hmm, she remembered that. And told them I didn't want to be in there.

"So, why couldn't you sleep? Don't like the rain?" She asks.

"No. I just..." I start.

I can't bring myself to open up to her just yet. I've seen her at a distance a couple of times since we got here but we haven't really talked since the day she gave me the tour of the compound.

"It's ok. I get it. We all have things we don't want to talk about." She says.

"Yeah." I say.

She looks up at me and offers a small smile.

"Well, I'll show you what I do here in the garden." She says. "Come here."

I move a little closer and she gives me some tips about gardening. Apparently her father was a botanist, which is a plant scientist. I didn't ask where he was. I assume it's a difficult topic for her.

We spend the next hour going through the garden and going over what each plant needs. She explains it in such a way that I feel I already understand it pretty well.

"So now you can cover for me, right?" She asks, with a smirk.

"Yeah, sure." I say, dryly, before getting up.

She giggles, causing me to blush.

"Alright well... see you later." I say, walking back toward the side door.

"Bye, Ellie." I hear her say before I exit the garden.

* * *

Jackson is becoming more of a home than I ever could've imagined. The world is still shit and everything has gotten a little mundane but at least here it's better than any of the quarantine zones I've been to. And it sure as hell is better than any of the cities I had to travel through on Joel and I's trip to the Fireflies.

There are just over a hundred homes here. Each house can fit up to four people, at most, but typically house 2 or 3. Each home has a bedroom with two single beds, a basic kitchen which nobody seems to use, a bathroom and a living or relaxing area with a couch that pulls out and a kitchen table, which is where Joel and I usually eat.

A garden, clinic and community hall are located in the middle of the compound with the houses surrounding each side but the west side which is where the inner gate is. The mess hall is near the gate as well, with a large pantry connected to it which is where we store food we find on runs. On the outer gate eight watchtowers spread around the perimeter. They are always manned. Tommy's office, the armory, the horse stables, the vehicles and the car shop are located outside the inner compound.

Then the dam is located in the northeast corner of the town.

Joel and I have fallen into a rhythm over the six months. Joel and I do runs as our community job most days. I think Joel was a little afraid of letting me out of his sight. Sometimes he'll help out in the garage or at the dam and I'll help out at the horse stable. Helping take care of the horses gives me something to do. On days off, we'll either help out elsewhere or I usually read books that anyone can borrow from the community hall.

I opted for walking around the compound as opposed to going home after my time in the garden. The sun has finally started to come up which means I can go grab a meal for Joel and I. I walk toward the mess hall and I see Dina walking out of the garden. She looks over at me and smiles. My face heats up and I speed the rest of the way to the mess hall. I grab two plates, one for me and one for Joel, before heading back.

I place the meals on the table and Joel emerges from the bedroom. I sit down and start eating. Joel sits down and starts eating as well.

Dina is usually with Jesse when I do see her so I don't want to intrude or honestly even be around them being all couple-y so I've mostly avoided her the first six months we've been here. She makes me feel queasy.

After breakfast, Joel and I are scheduled to go out and scavenge today. I'm feeling a little groggy but I should be fine.

"You alright, kiddo?" Joel asks, after finishing his food and cleaning off his plate.

"What? Yeah. I'm fine." I say.

"I heard you get up pretty early this morning." Joel says.

I hum in response, getting up and cleaning my plate as well.

"Alright. Just checking." Joel says, leaving to go grab his bag I'm guessing.

A few silent moments pass in the house.

"You ready to head out?" He asks, now at the front door, geared up.

"Yep." I say, going to grab my own bag before walking out the front door which he is holding open for me.

Joel and I walk to the inner gate and Joel hollers to Dan inside the office. Dan nods and opens the gate. We walk through once it's open and then it closes again shortly after.

"Hey Joel. Ellie. Hold up." Tommy says, walking up to us.

Joel turns to where Tommy is walking up to us.

"You both know Dina, right?" Tommy starts. We nod. "I think she could be great for scavenging once a week or so. Her mother was a vet and her father was a botanist, so she knows a lot about medicine and such. I figure that might be helpful."

"Why do we need to know about her?" Joel asks.

"Well I think it'd be good if she went with you two." Tommy says. "All the other scavenging teams are getting to be a little big. You two are the only team of two we have. Once the teams get too big, it becomes harder to keep track of everyone. The other teams are all four or more. Would you guys at least consider it?"

Joel looks down toward me for a second before looking back at Tommy.

"We'll talk about it and let you know." Joel says.

"Alright. Thank you." Tommy says.

Joel nods. We walk toward the stables, mount our horses and head out. We're riding for a couple miles before we reach a small town we've visited once before but we only managed to clear half of the houses.

We approach one of the homes, a blue one, that I know we didn't go through the last time we were here. Joel and I hop down from our horses and tie them to the front porch railing, scanning the surrounding area. I pull my bow from my back and Joel pulls his shotgun from his back. He cocks it and ascends the stairs, glancing into each side window of the door before looking back at me. I nod and he attempts to turn the knob before kicking the door in. We split up and search the bottom floor before moving to the top which we cleared just as easily. I found a first aid kit in a bathroom upstairs and there were some cans of food in the pantry downstairs. We exit the house and I move what I found from my backpack into the horse pack just to keep things light. Going through the rest of the houses in town took the majority of the day.

"So what do you think?" Joel asks, as we leave the town behind us.

"What do I think about what?" I ask in return.

"Dina." Joel says. "Joining us once a week."

"Oh." I say.

What do I think? What does it really matter what I think? It seems like Tommy's made up his mind. It would only be one day a week, right?

"Ellie?" Joel says.

"Yeah." I say. "It's… fine. I guess."

"Really?" Joel asks, something in his voice I can't place.

"Yeah. Sure. Like Tommy said it'll be less dangerous than having her go with another team." I say, hoping that'll appease him.

Joel remains quiet for a solid 15 seconds before he speaks.

"Alright." Is all he says. Fucking, of course. God damn it, Joel.

"Alright." I say.

We ride back the rest of the way in silence. We board our horses back in the stable and grab the nearby wheelbarrow to unpack the saddles. As we're heading over to the pantry, Tommy exits the office.

"Hey, Joel. Ellie." Tommy says. "You guys think about what I asked?"

"Yeah. Sounds good. She can come with whenever she's ready." Joel says.

"Really?" Tommy asks.

Why is everyone so surprised? Tommy looks between us quizzically.

"Yep." Joel says.

"Ok." Tommy says, a surprised but happy smile on his face.

* * *

I haven't been able to get Dina out of my head over the past two weeks. She's the only person who hasn't brushed me off, or that I've brushed off, in the longest time. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, even after six months in Jackson, I haven't been able to make any friends. I know that Joel has had a similar issue as well but he has had some luck with a couple people.

I'm glad we get to go scavenge today. Tommy has prohibited us from leaving for the past three days until a bandit issue got resolved. Joel wouldn't let me go help resolve it so I've been cleaning the stables in the mornings and reading in the afternoons. But we're cleared again and I can't wait to get out there. I've read through all the books on the compound. Twice. So reading just isn't as exciting. I was debating on going to the garden yesterday but decided against it.

"You ready?" Joel asks from the door.

"Hell yes." I say, to which Joel gives a disapproving shake of his head.

We walk silently up to the front gate.

"Ellie. Wait up." A voice calls as Joel and I stand at the front gate waiting for it to fully open. Sounds like…

I look back to see Dina with a backpack on, jogging toward us. Joel turns back as well.

"Who's that?" He asks.

"Dina." I say, simply. "You're getting blind old man."

"I've only seen her in passing." He says.

"Uh-huh." I say, busting his balls.

"Hey stranger." Dina says to me. She turns to look closer at Joel. "You must be My Joel." She says, sticking a hand out in greeting.

"I s'pose." Joel's eyebrows furrow together as he grasps Dina's outstretched hand.

"I'm Dina. Ellie's best friend." Dina continues, smirking at me.

I roll my eyes as Joel just looks between us, with growing perplexity.

"Yeah I didn't tell you?" I deadpan, earning a giggle from Dina.

"Alright… Well are we still going?" Joel asks, clearly admitting defeat on understanding what's going on here.

"Yeah." I say.

"Well Tommy wanted us to search somewhere near Boise. I'm guessing because she's coming with us. We'll be gone a couple days. We're taking the camper." Joel says.

A couple days? I've got to spend the night with her.

"You kiddos need to grab anything else knowing we'll be gone longer?" Joel asks.

"I'm good." Dina says.

I think for a second.

"Hold on." I say, to which I receive two confused looks.

I jog back to the house and grab the book that I'm reading. Maybe it'll be better if we don't talk. Or at least I can play off whether she seems to want to talk or not. I jog back to Joel and Dina to seeing Joel… smiling? Actually… fucking… smiling? I've been trying for years and I don't know if I've ever made him smile.

"What the fuck are you smiling at?" I ask.

"Whoa. The mouth on this one." Dina says, smirking.

"You don't understand how hard it is to get him to smile." I say. "What'd you say to him?"

"Want to hear a joke about paper? Nevermind, it's tearable." Dina says.

I look at Dina, unsure if she's serious. She only grins. I look over to Joel who is gives me a knowing look before walking over to the camper.

"You're serious. That's what you said?" I ask, thinking that Joel might be trying to fuck with me.

"Yes?" Dina says, looking confused.

"Alright you two. Come on. Let's get on the road." Joel says, opening the camper.

I walk over to the camper without another word. Dina seems hurt that I didn't find it funny. On the contrary, I love that one but I needed to make sure she wasn't in cahoots with Joel. Once I made it to the camper door I turn around. Dina walks up with the cutest puzzled look on her face before stopping just in front of me. She looks up at me.

"A furniture store keeps calling me. All I wanted was one night stand." I deadpan.

A smile creeps onto her face before she giggles.

"You're such a dick. I thought you were mad at me." She says, before shoving me inside the camper.

* * *

After a couple hours of Dina and I trading 'Dad jokes' while Joel tries his best to ignore us, I decide it's best if I go take a nap while I can. I know we'll have to stay up in shifts while we're out on the road. I take my backpack to the bed with me and drop it on the floor after pulling out my book, Atlas Shrugged. I draw the curtains on the windows and shut the door. I pull off my shirt before climbing into the bed.

I read about a chapter before finally being drowsy enough to attempt sleeping. Within the hazy fog of sleep, I half-hear Joel and Dina talking for a minute. Unconcerned I refocus on drifting away.

"Hey, Ellie. Joel says I—" Dina says, opening the door.

"Huh?" I say, leaning up onto my elbows.

"Where's your shirt, Tex?" Dina asks. Her cheeks look a little pink. I wonder if she's hot.

"Oh, fuck!" I say, realizing my state of undress I grab the sheet and pull it over my head. "I get hot when I sleep."

Dina mumbles something and I poke my head out.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing." She says, avoiding. "But look, Joel wants us both to keep watch when he takes his turn to sleep, so he wants us rested. Move over."

Dina starts crawling toward me on the bed. Sweet mother of Jefferson Davis.

"No, uh. I'm not tired. I tried but I can't. I'll try again later." I stammer, falling out of the bed before getting up in my sports bra and jeans and stumbling to grab my shirt and exit the bedroom as quickly as possible.

"Suit yourself." I hear as I shut the door.

I pull my shirt on before walking into the main cabin.

"Hey, kiddo." Joel says as I sit down in the passenger seat.

"Hey." I say, still trying to understand what just happened.

"I thought you were trying to sleep." Joel says.

"I just…" I start, thinking of Dina crawling up toward me. "…couldn't."

"Well I remember you saying how you haven't been sleeping well these last couple weeks so why don't you try again in an hour." Joel says.

"Yeah. Yeah. Uh, will do." I say.

He hums in affirmation, returning his focus to the road.

The winding road, the blur of the trees and the hum of the tires on pavement lull me into the sleep I was so close to only minutes ago.

* * *

"Ellie. Hey, kiddo." Joel says, nudging my shoulder gently.

"Yeah." I say, sleepily.

"We're here." Joey says. "I'm gonna do a quick scan of the area. Why don't you go wake Dina?"

I rub my eyes before humming in acknowledgement at his request. He leaves the camper with his shotgun. After a quick stretch, I push myself out of the seat and walk back to the bedroom. I knock softly on the door. I hear no response so I open the door to see Dina sleeping peacefully under the covers. As much as I'd like to wake her gently, the last time she tried waking me comes to mind. I smack her sheet covered calf a couple times with decent force, as I would if she were awake.

"Hey Dina. I don't want any pay back for choking you. We're here." I say.

I hear a groan before I see one of her eyes crack open.

"You're such a dick." She says, leaning up.

Whatever she says afterwards falls on deaf ears because the sheet falls off her chest and her nearly naked torso is exposed to me. I feel my face heat up before I turn around, putting my nose on a wall.

"Ellie?" She asks, before a slight pause. "What? I get hot too."

I hug the wall until I'm at the door and close it without looking behind me again.

The trees are barren of leaves and there is a thin layer of snow on the ground. It has yet to snow for us but I know it must be coming soon if I'm seeing it here.

"Hey. I see you're back to your original color." Dina says, exiting the camper.

"I see you're back to your original clothing status." I say, to which Dina smirks.

"Where's Joel?" Dina asks.

"When we do these longer trips he likes to clear the surrounding half mile. It usually takes him 15 minutes or so. Got your stuff?" I say.

"Yeah." Dina says.

"Good. It looks like he's parked it where it'll be most camouflaged. I'm going to grab a shovel to help cover it with snow. Considering it's mostly white it shouldn't be too hard to finish hiding." I say before explaining. "Would you go find some large branches that help cover it?"

"Sure thing." Dina says, looking at me curiously.

I grab the shovel from inside one of the compartments on the outside of the camper. I scoop up some snow and throw it up on top, repeating until the roof, tires, and engine hood are covered thinly. I take a nearby branch and scrape the ground so that the snow scooped area looks more even with the rest of the ground.

Dina and I use the branches she gathered to cover it as best we could.

"What's brown and sticky?" I ask.

She looks at me for a second, confused.

"Caramel?" She says, tilting her head.

"A stick." I say, smiling.

She lets out a short laugh.

"That's stupid." She says.

"I know." I say.

"How many apples grow on a tree?" She asks.

Hmm. I haven't read this one before. I think for a second before shrugging.

"All of them." She says.

I groan. "That was dumb."

She smiles, as if saying she knows.

"Don't you two get tired of dumb jokes?" Joel asks, walking up out of the trees.

"You're the dad. You should be giving us more ammo." Dina says.

Joel and I share a look before I clear my throat.

"So you know what we're here for. Tommy said that there should be a lot of the stuff on your list on this side of town. They didn't have the space for it all last time I guess. We'll spend a few hours today and all day tomorrow searching for as much of it as we can. Apparently we're really low on all our medical supplies." I say, pulling a stretcher out from one of the outer compartments. "We'll use this to carry as much as we can with less trips."

"I'll stand watch for us outside each house and Ellie'll stand guard inside the houses as you search for what you need." Joel says.

"Ok." Dina says.

We all walk down toward the town, weapons drawn and the stretcher being used as a sled tied around Joel's waist.

The first afternoon was a huge success, considering the time constraint. We needed to be back by dark so that we weren't making things more dangerous for ourselves. But even considering that, we were able to completely fill the stretcher/sled and all of our backpacks. We made it back just as the sun was beginning to set. We loaded the supplies into various areas of the camper before locking ourselves inside.

All three of us, gathered around the oven, the door hanging open to warm us all as we eat some canned food. I'm sitting on the floor in front of the oven since I wanted to give Joel and Dina the seats of the dining room table of the camper.

"I thought about going on an all-almond diet. But that's nuts." I say, grinning.

Joel groans and Dina giggles.

"Why couldn't the bicycle stand up by itself?" Dina asks, after recovering.

Joel narrows his eyes and I ponder the answer, feeling like I've heard it before but the answer is eluding me.

"It was two tired." Dina answers, obviously proud.

"And on that note, I'm going to sleep. Come wake me up at 2." Joel says, standing up and walking to the back.

Dina watches Joel go back to the bedroom. I wonder how we're going to pass the time. The lights are all off inside, aside from the oven and all the curtains are drawn.

"Good I was hoping that he'd get tired of our dad jokes." Dina says, after the door closes behind Joel.

"Were you just trying to get me alone?" I deadpan.

"Obviously." Dina says, getting out of her seat at the table and sitting down next to me, threading her arm around my elbow.

"For what reason?" I ask, mildly curious.

"I want to get to know you a little better and Joel, no offense, seems like his own tough nut to crack." Dina says.

"You're not wrong." I say.

"Ok well I won't ask you any targeted questions. These are open-ended. So more generalized in me getting to know someone. But I reserve the right to ask more targeted questions if I so choose." Dina says, adding the last part on authoritatively.

"Alright. On one condition." I say.

"What's that?" She asks.

"You have to answer any question you ask me after I answer." I say, curious if things will change with this rule.

"Sounds good." Dina says. "Ok first question, given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?"

That's an oddly probing question. I wasn't really expecting it.

"Do they have to be alive now?" I ask.

"No. Considering the world we live in, I'll let you choose someone who's dead." She says.

"This would only be for dinner, correct?" I ask.

"Yes. You can't bring them back permanently." She says, a little sadness in her voice.

"Will Livingston." I say.

"Who is that?" She asks.

"The author of my joke books." I say, with a smile. "I would like to get as much material as I could."

"I expected something much more profound from someone who reads as much as you." Dina says, shaking her head, chuckling softly.

"How do you know I read a lot?" I ask.

"I work in the garden. I've seen you go into community center with old books and out with new books all week. Kind of a boring week for you, huh? Not to mention that everyone says all you do is read when you're in town." She says.

I hum in acknowledgement. "Your turn."

"Hmm. I would have to say Joel. I'd need a whole dinner to really get into what he's got going on. Plus I only read medical books so I can imagine that the people I know would probably be more entertaining." Dina says.

I crinkle my brows at her choice but I guess I learned that she's not a big reader and in this world if you don't read you only know people by meeting them.

"Alright next question, what would constitute a 'perfect' day for you?" She asks, sounding completely innocent.

"These questions, while vague, are oddly telling about a person if you listen to them." I say, narrowing my eyes at her, even though neither of us can really see.

"Yeah. That's kind of the point." She says, laying her head on my shoulder waiting for my answer.

"Well a perfect day is what I've got I guess. I wake up in the morning, Joel has gotten breakfast and we eat together. We go out scavenging and then come back, read and go to sleep. The only thing I'd change is…" I stop, not knowing how honest I should be, but then I decide to just go for it. "… being able to talk to you every day. Maybe after I get home, and after you're done with your stuff, we could go up on the roof, look at the stars and talk, or not talk."

"That sounds nice." Dina says quietly while holding tighter onto my elbow. "Well my perfect day is pretty close to what I have as well. I like working in the garden. So I'd work until sundown then have dinner with Joel." I feel her smile against my shoulder. "I'd go to a dance for a couple hours and then I'd go find you on the roof and we'd talk, or not talk."

"So you like dancing?" I ask.

"I do." She says and I smile.

"So… next question, when did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?" Dina asks.

"Never. I don't sing." I say, at least not remembering the last time I sang.

"Really? That's sad." Dina says. "I sang to myself just yesterday morning in the garden. Last time to someone else was… for my mom, about a year ago, right before I had to kill her."

I tense a little at this confession. She had to kill her mother? Was she turning? Or was she sick beyond help?

"Another time." She says.

"Ok." I say.

"If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?" She asks.

"Body. The mind would grow wise with age. At least that's how I see it." I say.

"Hmm. I'd have to say mind. The books I have read depict mind illnesses as quite a scary way to go. I couldn't imagine losing a loved one to something like that, especially in this world, where making it to 90 seems impossible." She says.

"Good point. That reminds me of a book I read called the Notebook. The wife got a disease called Alzheimer's and couldn't remember her husband." I say.

"Exactly." Dina says. She readjusts herself that her head is laying on my lap.

"Next question?" I ask.

"Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?" She asks.

I think on this one for a minute. Does she not know? Might as well be honest I guess.

"Well I know how I will NOT die." I say, thinking that'll be enough to confirm whatever everyone says about me.

"What are you talking about?" Dina probes.

"Do you really not know? Or do you just want me to say it?" I ask.

"I really don't know." She says, obviously confused.

"I'm immune. To the cordyceps disease. I got bit about a year ago." I say.

"Whoa, are you serious? Can I see it?" She asks, grabbing onto my arm.

"Really?" I ask.

"Well not now. That would be pointless… but tomorrow?" She says, clarifying.

"Sure." I say, after a pause. "But I guess to answer your question. I think I'll probably die trying to protect someone I love, whether by stab wound, gun shot or whatever. Almost happened half a dozen times already. It's bound to catch me sooner or later."

"Sounds like an honorable way to go. I'd like to go out that way." She says. "I'll probably go out with a bite. Just don't let me know turn into an infected, okay? I wouldn't want to hurt anyone after I turned."

"Ok." I say, hoping I don't have to keep that vow.

"Name three things we have in common." She says.

"Are we still playing?" I ask.

"Yes." She says.

"That's not really a question." I say.

"I know. How about you do one, then me, so on?" She asks.

"Ok…" I stop for a minute, debating on the first thing that comes to mind. Might as well do it. "No parents."

"Ooo… ripping the bandaid off, huh?" She says, chuckling darkly. "Underestimated."

I smile to myself. "Resilient."

"Animal Lovers." She says, giggling.

"You assume a lot but you're right." I say. I am worried that I'm about to say something dumb but she knows that I'm not stupid and these questions are all about being honest. "Nightmares."

I feel her tense in my lap. She only hums in response. There is a long pause. I'm about to ask her if I said something wrong when she says, "Pun Masters."

I chuckle, which seems to be the desired response.

"What do you feel most grateful for in your life?" She asks, without missing a beat.

"Joel." I say, deciding not to elaborate.

"You." She says, equally short.

This is so confusing for me to hear.

"What about Jesse?" I ask.

"I'm thinking he may only be interested in being with me in a goal sense not me as myself. If that makes sense. A couple times he's said things that made me feel like a trophy or something. I'm not really able to talk to him like this." She says. I feel kind of angry at her response. Not at her but at Jesse for making her feel that way.

"But why me?" I ask.

"Why Joel?" She asks.

"He's made me feel like family when I never knew what having a family was like. Even though our family is small. And he makes me feel safe." I say.

"You make me feel the safest I've felt in years. I lost my parents shortly before I came to Jackson County. I liked being here but I've always felt things were a little empty." She says.

"Oh…" I say, blushing in the darkness.

"If you could change something about how you were raised what would it be?" She asks.

I contemplate this for a few seconds before settling on, "I would've just wished I'd found Joel sooner. As much as he's a pain sometimes, he's the best thing that could've happened to me. I was raised in a military camp, there wasn't much to me being raised since I fought against the officers every chance I got."

"I wish my parents would've raised me to understand my emotions better. Sometimes I think I do what's easiest as opposed to what I really want to do." She says.

"That's kind of cryptic." I say.

"Yeah." She says, in return. "If you could wake up tomorrow with one quality, what would it be?"

"Optimism." I say.

"Autonomous." She says.

I want to ask but I'm not interested in elaborating on mine so I leave it for tonight.

"Alright, last one. It's not really a question again but I want you to be detailed." She starts, making me nervous. "Tell me your life story in as much detail as possible, in about four minutes."

My brain short-circuits. How do I condense my life story into a four minute synopsis? Can anyone do that? I stare into the dull light of the open oven before looking down at Dina's barely lit face. Her eyes look closed. It'll be interesting to hear what her condensed down life is, if I can make it through my own.

"You alright up there?" Dina asks, her eyes still closed.

"Yeah." I say. "Just working out the outline in my mind."

She hums, a smile forming, in the red light.

"My mother died in childbirth and my father wasn't with her when she gave birth. So I never knew either of them. I grew up in the Boston Quarantine Zone. Surprisingly, I was a bigger pain in the ass than I am now." I say, feeling Dina chuckle on my lap. "I went to a military prep school starting at age 5 because they couldn't figure out what to do with me. From what I remember, a common nickname was 'little shit'. Those years were kind of a blur. They tried to control me and I just didn't do well in a militarized system."

"I imagine not." Dina says, to which I chuckle softly.

"When I was kicked out of the military prep school, I was sent to just live among everyone in the general quarantine area. I met this girl." I say, eyes glazing over.

I feel Dina shift and I turn my gaze back to the oven and in the low light of the room I see her eyes open in my peripherals.

"Riley. She stole my Walkman the first time I saw her." I pause, smiling. "But we got to know each other and she had a spirit that I hadn't seen in anyone else I'd met before. We were both rebels. And she was my first friend. We had some great times together but…" I take a breath. "We got bit. Right after…" I think of our short kiss. "It doesn't matter. She turned and I didn't. I had to put the pocket knife she gave me as a birthday present into her temple after she turned and I didn't." I stay silent for a few seconds before continuing.

"After that, my mission was to go to the Fireflies who were working on a cure. That's how I met Joel. He was a smuggler and the leader of the Fireflies in Boston hired him to transport me to the Fireflies at the other side of the city. Every checkpoint we hit, we had barely missed the Fireflies. At one point we'd come across Jackson because Tommy used to be a Firefly. After almost year of infected, bandits and cannibals we made it Salt Lake City. We barely made it into the city before I nearly drowned. Next thing I know I wake up in a truck, Joel driving me away from the city saying that they've given up on looking for a cure. Then we came back to Jackson where I've been for the last six months as you know."

Breathing in deeply, I let my breath out slowly. Dina lifts herself from my lap and leans back against the table, bringing her knees up to her chest.

"Thanks for being so honest with me." Dina says, into her knees.

"Sure." I say, quietly.

A silence settles between us. I don't know if I've ever been that open with someone. Not with Joel, that's for sure.

"So… my parents were well prepared for the infection when it happened. They told me they starting preparing more so because of the political climate as opposed to a widespread infection but in the end their plans worked out well. They were in Canada when the outbreak happened. I was born and lived the majority of my life in that small underground compound. We grew our own garden, had electricity, they taught me everything they knew about plants and animals, and considering the rest of the world, we did really well. It kept us safe and worked for almost 20 years." Dina says, pausing and seeming to relive things.

"Just after I turned twelve, bandits invaded our home. We fought hard but we lost my father there. My mother realized that without him it'd be difficult, if not impossible, to build everything back up to what it was and she made the decision that we had to leave. On the road down here, we wanted to stay off the main roads to avoid more bandits but my mom got bit. I couldn't let her go so we kept moving until she could feel herself slipping. She didn't want to infect me so she asked me to kill her while she was still herself." Dina pauses for a couple breaths. "Thankfully this place was directly south of where we lived because I had a compass with me and all I knew was that I didn't want to use the main roads and I wanted to head south until I found something. Honestly, it's a miracle that I'm alive. I don't even know how many infected I've killed or even just regular people. And that scares me."

"I was probably on the road for 3 months, doing 20 miles a day, before I got here. My mom said we were deep into Canada. I'm not exactly sure how far I went but I know it was over a thousand miles. I've been here in Jackson ever since, not really leaving unless Tommy begged me to go help find medical supplies." Dina says, pausing. "And then about six months ago, I met this girl. She doesn't talk a whole lot and sometimes I think she's avoiding me but she's really growing into my best friend. I feel like I can tell her anything."

I blush a little at her words.

"I can't believe how far you walked before you got here. I mean, I covered some distance but we found trucks for the long hauls." I say.

"Yeah. My feet still hurt thinking about it." Dina says, still trying to lighten the mood.

"Your story wasn't anything like what I expected." I say.

This girl keeps surprising me every time I'm near her.

"Yours wasn't really what I expected either. I kind of figured you and Joel had been together much longer. You both really seem to understand each other." Dina says.

A chuckle escapes me at that statement.

"What's funny?" Dina asks.

"You're right." I say, leaving my statement there to fuck with her.

"Oh, is that how it is? Looks like someone is getting their best friend card revoked." She says.

"I'm devastated." I deadpan.

"You'll miss me when I'm not on your scavenging trips. Just you wait." Dina says.

I hum happily in response.

The oven clock beeps softly. 2 AM.

"Guess it's time for bed." I say, pushing off the floor to stand before offering her a hand. "Come on, sleeping beauty."

"Sleeping what?" Dina says, grabbing my hand and smirking.

"It's a kid's tale. Never of heard it?" I ask, pulling her to her feet.

"Oh. No. I haven't. Like I said the books my parents kept were medical and scientific journals and a basic set of encyclopedias. They probably would've liked me hanging out with a brainiac like you." She says.

I only hum in response before heading back to knock on the bedroom door.

"You decent in there?" I ask after softly rapping on the door.

"Gimme a minute." Joel says, gruffly.

After some rustling behind the door, the knob turns and Joel stands in the doorway.

"You sure you'll be alright out here by yourself?" I ask, mostly joking since I know he's more than capable.

Joel only hums in affirmation before walking over to sit at the dining room table. "Go get some sleep you two."

I walk back into the room and slip under the covers of one side.

"You going to let me get in bed with you this time?" Dina asks.

"Yeah, o' course. You need to sleep, too. Long day tomorrow." I say, turning onto my side, facing the wall.

I feel the bed shift as Dina gets in the other half of the bed.

"Thanks for answering my questions again. G'night Ellie." Dina says, adjusting a little on her side.

"G'night Dina."

A/N: I don't know if this will be true, but let's say Dina is a year younger than Ellie. Hope you all enjoyed a big ol' chapter of slow burn and terrible dad jokes. Review if you desire. Have a lovely day. I leave you with a quote.

"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." - Confucius


	3. Chapter III

A/N: I don't own any of the characters, they're owned by Naughty Dog. Enjoy.

2036 - SUMMER

The sky is a dark purplish black with only a couple clouds drifting by. The stars sparkle all over the sky. I am stretched out on the roof of my place. Joel is up at the dam, helping to do some minor repairs. Everyone is freaking out because the power is out and most people, who aren't helping at the plant, have gathered in the community hall. I figured this would be a great time to really enjoy the night sky. I haven't seen it so clear like this in a while. When I can't sleep, instead of wandering the compound like I used to, I'll come up here.

I've propped my head up with my arms folded behind it. The roof is slightly cool against my back and I close my eyes as the warm night summer breeze brushes across my face.

"You look peaceful." Dina says, off to the side, standing on the ladder at the side of the house.

I don't use the ladder to get up here but she'd 'rather not break her neck' so I humor her by keeping a ladder laying on the side of the house.

"I s'pose I am." I say.

She lifts herself onto the roof and scoots over to me. After that night in Boise, I found Dina wanting to join me on the roof most nights and we would talk or sometimes we'd just lay up here. About a week ago, she came up here without a word, laid real close, like her head on my chest and arm hugging around my stomach close, and we just laid here. I could tell she didn't want to talk about it. I've gotten used to Dina being touchy feely with me. That just seems to kind of be how she is. It took a few months but I finally was able to mostly get used to it. There are still times where her affection catches me off guard.

It turns out that Jesse had broken up with her over something stupid. They've already broken up twice since I've been here. Sometimes she breaks up with him. Sometimes he breaks up with her, but they always rectify things are back together within a couple weeks.

I'm glad she doesn't really talk about their breakups with me. I wouldn't know how to console her anyway. I like to be the neutral party for when she wants to get away from Jesse.

"So, do you remember that night in Boise?" She asks.

"Yeah." I say.

"Remember all those questions that I asked you?" She asks.

"How could I forget?" I say.

I hadn't ever been so honest with someone in my whole life. It was terrifyingly liberating. I don't even know why I decided to trust her so fully with my responses. Dina wasn't a gossip but I'd only met her a handful of times so I couldn't really be sure that she wouldn't tell other people. But I never got strange looks or anything after that night so I can only assume that Dina understood my desire for privacy without me having to say anything.

"Well, I've got some more." She says.

I readjust my position to leaning onto my elbows and I furrow my brows at her. "Really?"

"Really. And these I will warn you are way more intense. Those just scratched the surface compared to these." She says, smirking up at me. "You interested?"

I contemplate for a second. She'll tease me mercilessly if I don't accept, saying I'm scared which I'm not. They're just questions. How bad can they really be?

"Ok. Same rules apply?" I ask.

"Of course." She says. "Are you sure? No turning back."

I really doubt she'd make me answer a question if I really was opposed so I'm guessing she's just teasing me again.

"I'm sure." I say, to which she smiles.

"Ok, first question, if a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?" She asks.

"What's a crystal ball?" I ask.

"Oh wow, I know something that Ms. Brainiac doesn't? Interesting." She says, smirking.

"I don't claim to know everything. I learn new things everyday." I say.

Dina gives me a strange smile before nodding.

"A crystal ball is something used by witches. You know, like from those Harry Potter books you tell me about. It basically is a mystic ball that's supposed to tell you the future or something. The idea is that the crystal ball can tell you anything about your past, present, or future. Make sense?" Dina explains.

"Oh, ok. Yeah." I say. "Um…"

I think about what I'd want to know about. Myself, my life, the future, or anything else? I'm not really interested in the future but…

"I'd like to know what my father and mother looked like. Even if they're both dead, it'd be nice to have faces like everyone else. As much as Joel is more than what I deserve, it'd still be nice to know." I say.

"I know you care for Joel but there's nothing wrong with wanting to know what your parents looked like." Dina says, touching my arm lightly, as if understanding, before turning back up to the sky. "As for me I think it'd be nice to know how I die. Not to really stop it but to make sure that I have no regrets before I reach that point, you know? I would hate to come back as a ghost like from your stories."

I know she's mostly joking at the end but her response kind of makes sense. I don't know if I'd be able to die with no regrets though; after the things I've done it'd be hard to resolve my regrets no matter when I die.

"Next question, is there something you've dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven't you done it?" She asks.

There are two ways I could answer this, but I'm not looking to make Dina feel uncomfortable. Both answers are true.

"Going back to the Fireflies. I want to make sure that they aren't still looking for a cure. As much as I want to believe that Joel wouldn't lie to me I'd understand if he did when he told me that they'd stopped a few years ago. I can't shake the feeling that whatever happened in Salt Lake City, it would've led to my death and maybe that's why he lied. I was very determined 'have my turn' after Riley; helping people was just an added bonus. But for Joel I am like the daughter that he lost and I don't think he could lose me, too. I don't sneak out and go to the Fireflies for him." I say.

Dina looks at me for a minute. She remains silent for a couple minutes, thinking of her own response, I guess.

"I guess my biggest dream is to…" Dina starts. "…go back home at some point. I haven't gone because I'm afraid I wouldn't make it there and back."

That seems like a surprisingly empty answer. I could swear that she wanted to say something else by her tone but I guess I can't really question her.

"You might be able to do that someday. Maybe we can go and then go find the Fireflies." I say, chuckling.

"Ellie…" She starts. "I wouldn't want to go with you, so you can sacrifice yourself, even if it was for a cure. That's something that Joel and I agree on."

Dina shifts up off her back and bring her knees up to her chest, resting her chin there.

"Dina, I…" I start. Damn it. I don't know what to say. I sigh, frustrated with myself.

"What?" Dina asks, obviously aggravated at my sighing.

"You wanted me to be honest. I just…" I say. "I won't go back. Not while Joel is alive and maybe if I find a reason I never will but I don't want to be selfish. If I could end all this suffering, shouldn't I try?"

"There's no guarantee that they would find a cure. If you're right about Joel lying to you about Salt Lake City there's a good chance that they would've had to kill you to get whatever they needed and science is never sure so there's a good chance that your death would be for nothing." Dina says.

"Even if it didn't directly lead to a cure, it could help them. Be a stepping stone of sorts. They said they'd seen nothing like it before I left Boston. Maybe they could learn enough where they could take something from the infected and eventually get there." I say.

"Why do you still sound so determined to 'have your turn'? Don't you like your life here?" Dina asks.

"I'm not. I just… things aren't that simple. If we could find a cure maybe that would lead to us creating more effective weapons against them and the world could get on its way back to the way it was before all this. If the only cost was me, why shouldn't I do it?" I ask.

"You didn't answer my question." Dina says, looking at me hard. "Do you like your life here?"

I crinkle my brows at her before answering. "Of course, I like my life. But if life could be better for everyone and the only cost was my life, shouldn't I do it? Isn't it my responsibility?"

"You sure do put a lot of responsibility on yourself." Dina says.

"I don't want to see everyone I care about die from this disease if there is something I can do about it. I'm tired of losing everyone to this. Aren't you?" I say.

"Yeah." Dina says, quietly.

We sit in silence for a couple minutes.

"Next question?" I ask.

"What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?" She asks, obviously still mulling over the last one.

I let her think and I think about my response.

"My greatest accomplishment was probably saving Joel. I never thought we'd get out of there and I was ill-prepared to handle something like that but somehow I managed it. And now those fucking cannibals won't hurt anyone else." I say, still remembering that creep leaning over me.

She hums, quietly. Silence settles between us again.

"Your turn." I say after some time passes.

"Right." She says. "Probably making it here to Jackson. I never thought I'd make it after my mom died."

I nod before resuming my fully laid back position and my arms behind my head.

"What do you value most in a friendship?" Dina asks.

Focusing on the sky, I debate the question in my mind, bouncing between a couple of traits.

"Loyalty. At the end of the day I need someone who's got my back even when things are rough." I say.

"Honesty." Dina says, without elaborating. "What is your most treasured memory?"

I eye her for a second, before ignoring the next question. "Alright, look. You say you value honesty most, but when I'm honest you get mad with me. How does that work?"

"I can value honesty and still get mad at hearing it. One doesn't cancel the other." Dina says, eyeing me with a look that is daring me to continue arguing.

"Still seems hypocritical to me." I say.

She only hums in response.

"Do you want me to leave? I mean it's my roof but I'll still leave if you're not interested in doing these questions anymore. I feel like us answering these questions while one of us is pissed kind of negates the purpose of these questions." I say, pushing up onto my palms again.

"You're going to run away from us arguing? That doesn't really seem like your style." Dina says, looking over at me.

"It's not. But I don't really know how to argue with you. Joel pushes his feelings down so far that the only way to argue with him is to let him come to me. I can be pissy while I wait for him to come around but that's about it. We've probably talked more tonight than him and I have the whole time I've known him. This-" I gesture between us. "-is different from any other relationship I've had. Some people need to get out their rage before talking rationally, others need to hash it out right then and there. I'm the latter but like I said Joel doesn't like to handle things until he's ready, which is so fucking frustrating."

She looks at me for a couple seconds and I'm about to keep going when a smile comes to her face.

"What's so fucking funny?" I ask, incredulous.

"This is our first fight." She says, simply.

I open my mouth to argue before thinking back over that past couple years that I've known her. Sure we've had disagreements in the past but we've usually been able to brush them off with little incident. It's never been this heated between us, that's for sure. My brows furrow together as I try to think of a time where either of us have gotten mad like this and I can't think of one.

"I guess… it is." I say.

"How have I not gotten mad at you yet?" She asks, mostly to herself.

"Yeah, my dumb ass should've pissed you off by this point." I deadpan.

She laughs at this. Her face looks dreamy as she stares at me with a smile on her face. I exhale in relief before resuming my laid back position once more.

"So my most treasured memory…" I say. "I've got a couple but probably that night in Boise."

"Now you're just trying to suck up." Dina says, smirking.

"I'm not. But you think what you want." I say, noncommittally.

"I want a different one. I already know about that night. I want something I haven't heard." Dina says.

"Isn't that against the rules?" I ask.

"I make the rules and I say I want a different one." She says, challenging.

"Alright, fine. Well after that is probably this time in Salt Lake City before I almost drowned. We found this herd of giraffes. It was probably one of the few times where I was in awe of the world; definitely one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen." I say, conceding another favorite memory.

"I thought for sure you'd say something about Riley. You really cared about her." Dina says.

"Yeah I thought about it but the last day with her was happy and sad. I treasure that memory but it is also kind of tainted by what followed." I say.

"I see." She says.

"Is it your turn yet?" I ask.

She looks at me, amused.

"Ha. Ha. My most treasured memory, besides Boise…" She says, I roll my eyes. "…is probably a night from my old home when I was about 7. All our chores were done and my parents decided to do this impromptu movie night or something. I didn't really know what it was but they said that they did it when they were young. We made a pillow and blanket fort, mom made cookies and popcorn, and we watched movies. We weren't able to use electricity for the next four days while the solar panels caught back up with what was lost but it was worth it. We did that about once a year after that but I still remember that first time, fondly."

"Sounds nice." I say.

"Yeah." She says. "What's your most terrible memory?"

I sigh. "Riley. And David. They were both pretty bad days."

"Who's David?" Dina asks.

"Cannibal." I say.

"Oh." She says. "Bandit night and mom for me."

I nod, understanding.

"What does friendship mean to you?" She asks.

"I've got your back. You've got mine. Period." I say.

She looks at me curiously for a minute.

"Friendship means that you're my family. It's just better because I picked you. Kind of like you said, I've got your back. I'd do anything for you." She says.

I hum in acknowledgement.

"What roles do love and affection play in your life?" She asks.

Eyeing her, I think over my answer. She turns onto her side and holds her head up with her hand. Her new position makes me feel slightly uneasy.

"Before I'd met you, the most affection I'd shown was when I kissed Riley. You definitely made me uncomfortable at first after not knowing anyone well enough until Joel and then he was very sparing with his affection. But I'm glad that I met you and you offered your affection so willingly. It's… nice. And it helps me to be more willing to show affection, I guess." I say, turning to look at her.

"That was really nice, Ellie. Thank you." Dina says.

I nod before turning my attention back to the sky.

"Love and affection are pretty central to my life I guess. I'm not about shying away from affection because my thinking is you have to show it while you can." She says.

"That makes sense." I say.

"How do you feel about your relationship with your mother?" She asks.

I look over to her confused.

"This is one of the questions?" I ask.

"Yes." She says.

"But I don't have a relationship. You know that." I say.

"Yeah, but that wasn't the question. The question was how do you feel about the relationship, even if it's non-existent." She clarifies.

"Oh." I say, mulling over the phrasing. How do I feel about our relationship? Or lack there of. "I guess, I feel abandoned and alone. Most kids who survive to be my age remember their mother but I've got nothing. Only a letter and what Marlene told me about her, which wasn't much."

I turn and shrug. Unsure of what else to say. How can you talk about something that never really existed?

She nods in understanding.

"My relationship with my mother was close. How could it not be considering her and my father were the only people I knew for the longest time? When she died the other half of my world died with her. I had lost my father only about a month before that so I'd felt broken beyond repair and I don't really know what motivated me to keep going. Probably her but more of a subconscious feeling that I knew she wanted me to survive. In a lot of ways we weren't all that close. We never talked like this. I have trouble understanding myself because we always focused on survival which I understand but I don't really feel like I knew her as a person other than as my mother." Dina says.

It must be strange having known your mother and not knowing who she was as a person. That's kind of what this world does to you, I guess.

"Alright, last one. Five characteristics that you consider positive about me. We'll go back and forth." She says.

"Caring." I say, after nodding in understanding.

"Resourceful." She says.

"Determined."

"Humble."

"Original."

"Brave."

"Daring."

"Protective."

"Loyal." I say.

"Honest." She says, smiling. "You really think those things about me?"

"You're the one who called me honest." I deadpan.

She rolls her eyes before scooting closer to me and throwing her arm across my midsection.

"I'm glad you said you like my affection. I was a little worried that you only put up with it to humor me." She says, burrowing into my side.

I remove a hand from behind my head and wrap it around her shoulder. She hums, contentedly.

A/N: Review if you desire. Have a lovely day. I leave you with a quote.

"The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation. Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same. We are all one people, but we live as if divided." - Guru Pathik (ATLA)


	4. Chapter IV

**A/N:** I don't own any of the characters, they're owned by Naughty Dog. Enjoy.

2038 - WINTER

The smell of the trees mixes with the musky scent of our horses as I gallop back to Jackson with Jesse, Dina, and Jeremy. We're going a little faster because it's almost dark. We're late because Jesse thought we could clear more houses even though I'd already warned him that we needed to leave. Unfortunately, we weren't having much luck in the earlier houses so Jesse wanted to keep going to make sure that we brought back enough stuff. Jesse's going to get his ass chewed out but whatever, it's not my problem. He's the leader.

I see the front gate in the distance but it's already dark. The four of us come to a stop at the front gate while we wait for the gate to open. I pull out my handgun and keep an eye around us since our galloping probably drew the attention of nearby infected.

"Open the gate." Jesse hollers up to the watchman.

A growl sounds in the nearby tree followed by the pattering of quick steps.

"No don't." I holler and the horses start to spook.

I jump down from my horse, not wanting to have to account for the unpredictable actions of a scared horse. I raise my handgun. A dozen infected leap out from the forest at various points. I fire off a few shots, taking down a runner. The other three take out a couple more stalkers and runners. I run up, sheathing my handgun and pulling out a shiv, and grab a lunging stalker before plunging the shiv into its brain. I pull the shiv out and it crumples to the ground, before I twist around slicing the throat of a runner. It staggers and deliver a finishing blow into its eye.

A heavy body tackles me to the ground. I push back. A clicker towers over me and I'm barely able to hold it off.

"Ellie!" I hear someone yell, Dina I think.

A shot rings out and the clicker collapses on top of me. I shove the dead weight off and another falls onto me. I force my shiv in through the bottom of his jaw all the way up into its brain. More shots sound to my right, as well as from the watchtower, and a couple more runners and a clicker fall to the ground. I pull a molotov cocktail from my bag and reach into my pocket for my lighter. As I get it out another runner lunges at me, causing me to drop it into the dark. It takes a bite out of my shoulder and grunt in pain. Grabbing my switchblade from my belt, I flip it open before plunging it into the fucker's temple. A familiar deep croaking noise echos out from only a few yards away.

"Bloater! Get your masks on now!" I holler, reaching for my flashlight to find where my lighter fell to.

I hear everyone nearby shuffling with their things. Then I hear a specialized alarm go off behind me in the compound. It should signal everyone inside to put their masks on as well. I sprint as far away from the gate and into the forest, as close as I dare to get near the beast.

"Hey dumb fuck! Over here!" I yell.

The beast lets out a new stream of menacing croaks as it pulls a spore bomb from its body and throws it toward me. I'm barely able to avoid it. I'm trying to figure out how I can light this damn molotov I'm carrying. Fire does the most damage against these things.

"Ellie! Catch!" Dina yells. What is she thinking? She'll draw its attention.

"No ugly you're still my bitch. This way!" I say.

Something glints in the spotlight, flying toward me. I reach up to catch it. A lighter. Thank fuck! I light the molotov cloth and throw it towards the bloater. Flames erupt all over its body and it groans loudly. Another spore bomb lands near me and I cough, pulling out another molotov. I light it and throw it as well, causing another explosion of flames. It moans angrily, taking a couple more steps before finally falling over. A couple more shots fire off and the familiar sounds of dropping bodies quickly follows.

My adrenaline is still pumping and my breath erratic as I scan the area for other infected. After a couple minutes of no other sounds I hear the loud buzz that signals the gate is opening. I turn and start walking back that way. My blood starts to boil and my breathing becomes short and heavy as I pick up my pace. I walk up behind Jesse and shove him forward which almost causes him to fall forward.

"What the fuck?" Jesse says, turning around.

"I fucking told you. I told you that we needed to leave. But did you listen? No. You never fucking listen. Because you're mister macho leader who never listens to anyone." I say.

"Everything we bring back helps to keep the whole place going. I made a decision." He says, being authoritative like Joel and making gestures to look important.

I step forward with my fist pulled back ready to punch him but someone grabs my retracted arm and opposite shoulder.

"Ellie, stop." I hear Dina's familiar voice in my ear.

I shrug out of her hold and walk toward him, until I was a couple inches from his face.

"Yeah? Well, your decision almost got the whole fucking compound killed." I say, before moving to the side, walking over to my horse, which is miraculously still here, and guiding him through the open gate.

I scratch and pat his cheek as we walk over to the stable. Guiding him into his individual stall, I leave him to go find a wheelbarrow. Once I return, I unload all of the stuff from his saddle compartments and drop my backpack on top. I take some supplies to the armory, some to clinic but most of my stuff goes to the pantry. I snag an apple before returning to the stable.

I return the wheelbarrow to the storage area and go back to my horse, his name is Kobyashi. I glance around before reaching into my bag for the stolen apple. I lift it up for Kobyashi, who happily accepts it.

"Did you steal another apple for Koby?" A voice says from the stable divider.

I move around to start taking off his saddle and hanging it onto the wall. I lean down and grab his brush.

"You know he doesn't like that nickname. He prefers Yashi for short." I say, reaching up to scratch his cheek. "Isn't that right, boy?"

Dina walks over to us, on the other side of Kobyashi. She scratches under his jaw on that side as I brush his side.

"I'm sorry, Yashi." She says. "Will you forgive me?"

I continue to brush him and hum a couple times, acting as if he's talking to me.

"He says he'll think about it." I say.

Dina chuckles.

I continue taking care of Kobyashi, doing a little more brushing, checking his hooves and then going to storage to grab a bag of horse feed. Kobyashi makes some soft noises which are the only sounds in the stable for some time.

"Are you all right, El?" Dina asks, after I return from putting the horse feed bag back.

"Yeah." I say, looking at the ground and putting my hands into my pockets.

"Come on. I've never seen you like that before. What happened?" Dina pushes.

I only lean over the pony door, not wanting to enter the stall with her. I'm not entirely sure why I got so worked up this time. I shrug noncommittally, continuing to not look at her. She walks out of the stall and closes the door behind her before leaning against it.

"Come over to my place." She says.

"What about Jesse? I'm sure he doesn't want you hanging out with me after I reamed him in front of all those people." I say.

"Well, if you want to know, he's not happy with me because I told him that he deserved you tearing him a new one. But, even though I agree with what you said doesn't mean I'm not still worried about you. Please come over." She explains.

I smile. She agreed with me.

"Does that smile mean you'll come?" She asks, holding out a hand.

I chuckle before walking over to her and wrapping my arm around her shoulder. She slips her arm around my waist and we walk to her place.

* * *

The room looks identical to the living room at my place. I walk over and fall onto the couch as I've done many times before. Dina walks over into the kitchen. I hear some rustling but don't turn around; she's probably just getting some water. She walks over and hands me a glass with an amber liquid in it. I look at her as she sits down and lifts her legs to lay over mine.

"What's this?" I ask, after she is settled.

"I found it in one of the houses today. Whiskey. It's called Crown Royal. Very nice looking bottle." Dina says, before taking a sip.

I hum, understanding, before taking a generous sip of my own. I've had whiskey before and have enjoyed it thus far. It's good. A better taste than some of the others I've had. I toss back the rest before setting the glass on the table. Dina gives me a look before getting up to go grab the bottle. She comes back and sets it on the table.

"Don't drink it all now." She teases.

I smirk before leaning forward and pouring myself a couple fingers. I take the glass but wince, my shoulder finally feeling the pain of the bite now that the adrenaline is finally starting to leave me.

"What's wrong?" Dina asks, taking her legs off my lap and leaning forward.

Her eyes fall to my shoulder, blood finally seeping into my shirt.

"Damn it, Ellie." She says, putting her glass on the table and leaning forward before pulling my shirt to the side to look at the bite. "We're taking you to the clinic."

"No. I don't need to go. It'll be fine." I say, not wanting to leave the comfort of Dina's couch.

She narrows her eyes at me and exhales in frustration.

"Fine. Take your shirt off." She says before getting up.

Groaning, I shrug out of my flannel carefully before, with more difficulty, taking off my t-shirt. I hear Dina rustling around in the kitchen for who knows what. Now that I've got my shirt off, I take as best a look at it as I can considering its located where my shoulder meets my neck. I touch it gingerly and it still stings.

"Fucker." I say to myself.

Dina comes back and walks to stand in front of me, a med kit and hand cloths in her hands and a look of disapproval still on her face. I crinkle my brows at her. She sets them down on the couch's arm rest before straddling my lap. I've grown somewhat accustomed to Dina's affection but she doesn't do this often enough for me to be used to it. I look away, uncomfortable. She grabs onto the couch armrest and turns around, grabbing my glass of whiskey. She gives the whiskey to my good hand and I'm confused.

"This is going to hurt like a bitch so drink up while I get everything ready." She says.

I take the glass and sip a couple times, while she grabs supplies from the kit, before tossing back the whole glass once more. Yep. Starting to feel it now.

"Open your mouth." She says.

"What?" I ask, dazed from the alcohol setting in.

She opens her mouth in demonstration before smirking. I do as she asks and she shoves one of the hand cloths in my mouth. I struggle for a second before she gives me a look.

"Bite onto this while I do the next thing." She says, pointing to the cloth in my mouth.

I nod. She grabs another hand cloth and lays it on my chest, before grabbing a bottle of clear liquid and a third hand cloth. She shakes the bottle before twisting off the cap. It has a foul smell that seems to singe the hairs from my nose. She kind of wraps me in a hug as she brings the third hand cloth to my back and just presses it against my shoulder blade.

"Ready?" She asks.

I hum an affirmative noise and she pours the liquid over the bite. I groan and bite down on the cloth in my mouth. It feels like I'm being bitten all over again but worse. It fucking burns. I lean my forehead against her shoulder and breath deeply as she continues.

"I know." She says, soothing.

She brings the cloth from my shoulder blade up to cover over the bite, dabbing lightly. She blows lightly on it and that feels so fucking amazing that I don't have words for it. She leans back, forcing me to lift my head from her shoulder and she takes the cloth she laid on my chest, wiping up the liquid that ran down my chest. I lay my head onto the back of the couch and continue to breathe deeply through my nose. She pulls some gauze out next and covers the bite gently, before taping it down as best she could considering the location.

"You probably should keep your shirt off so that you don't work that muscle. It's in such an awkward spot." Dina says.

I hum in acceptance. She gets off me and takes everything back to wherever it came from before returning. She takes my glass from my left hand, which I'd forgotten about, and pours me some more before returning it to me.

"Feeling a little better?" She asks, sitting down and taking another sip.

"I'd feel better if I could put my shirt back on." I say.

She rolls her eyes before getting up once more. I don't know what she's doing. I'm afraid to turn my head to far one way or the other now that I'm bandaged up. She returns with a blanket and lays it over me.

"Happy?" She asks, smirking.

"Yeah." I say.

"So… what happened? Why'd you go off on him like that? Like I said, it was deserved but I've never seen you like that. Are you all right?" She asks, lifting her legs back to their previous position on my lap.

I sigh before staying silent for a few seconds.

"I'm not entirely sure why I got so mad. I was kind of stewing about it on the ride back. I had a bad feeling that I can't really explain. Maybe it's because I hadn't been outside the gate so late in a long time. Maybe it's because the horses were making a lot of noise. I don't know. I just can't explain it but I could feel it that something bad was going to happen when I saw where the sun was as we left the town." I say.

Dina only nods, waiting for me to continue.

"Tonight was a miracle. We haven't had a fuckup like that… like ever. And it put the whole compound in danger. I kept telling myself that it wasn't my fault but if someone had died I would've felt responsible because I couldn't get him to fucking listen." I say, before taking another sip.

We let the silence sit between us. I'm not really sure what else I could say.

"Honestly, if you weren't there, Ellie… tonight would've turned out very differently." Dina says. "Thank you. And I'm sorry that Jesse's decision made you feel responsible."

I nod, unsure of how to respond.

"So I was thinking…" Dina says, a mischievous look on her face.

"Yes?" I say, waiting for her to finish her sentence.

"It's been a while since you and I had a nice talk." Dina says.

"We talk all the time. What do you mean?" I say.

Her and I still hang out on my roof most nights. It's been a little cold over the last week but when it's cold we'll hang out in her living room like we are now.

"No, I mean a 'nice' talk." She stresses nice oddly.

I look at her confused for a few more seconds before realization hits me.

"Wait? Do you want to do that question thing we did in Boise again?" I say, chuckling before taking another sip of my drink.

"Yes, I do. I didn't think you'd figure it out at the rate you were going." She says.

"How do you still have more questions?" I ask.

"Of course I have more questions. I'm naturally inquisitive, at least when it comes to you." She says.

"Don't you know everything about me by now?" I ask, smirking.

"Never." She says.

"All right, well, let's get on with it." I say, tossing back the rest of my whiskey.

"No more whiskey for you." She says, taking my glass and setting it on the table. "Otherwise I won't know if it's you or it talking."

"Fine." I say, laying my head against the back of the couch and shifting a little so I can see her better without having to turn my head.

"Tell me something you like about me as I am now." She says.

"This just seems like an ego booster." I say.

"I wanted to start off easy. Come on." She says, smirking.

"Ok… um, I like how free spirited you are. Despite everything that you've been through, you don't let it dampen your light for long." I say.

"That was really sweet, Ellie." She says, blushing a little.

"That's me." I deadpan. Dina scoffs at me.

"I like how fiercely you protect what you care about." She says.

I nod, with a little smile.

"Next question, what's an embarrassing moment from your life?" She asks.

My brows furrow. I think for a minute but come up empty.

"I don't really have one. Sure there are times when I feel uncomfortable but being embarrassed seems like a luxury. Life is what it is, there's no use in dwelling on things." I say.

"Yeah you're such a badass, there's no way you've ever embarrassed yourself." Dina says, smirking.

I only roll my eyes.

"Well, as for me, I guess the only time I felt embarrassed was back when the chicken coop was first built I went in there to clean up and came out covered in chicken poop and feathers. Of course, Jesse walked by at the same moment and we had only started dating like a week prior to that incident." She says.

I nod, slowly, kind of unsure how to respond.

"All right. Complete this sentence, I wish I had something with whom I could share…" She states, before taking a sip of whiskey.

I debate internally for a few seconds before going with my initial thought.

"Kisses." I say.

Dina almost spits out the sip she'd taken but doesn't. Instead she looks at me, silently asking to elaborate.

"What? Riley is gone. I wish I had someone like that." I say, unwilling to say more.

She stares hard at me for a few seconds before turning to look at the coffee table.

"My nightmares." She says.

"Are you still having nightmares?" I ask. "Why didn't you say anything? Why not talk to Jesse?"

"Jesse has realized that he can't help me and kind of checks out if I ever have a nightmare around him and I know you have your own demons, Ellie. I don't want to burden you." She says.

"Besides Joel's and my own, your demons are the only ones that I do care about. Fuck everyone else. You're my best friend. It's your job to burden me and mine to burden you." I say.

"Ok. I'll keep that in mind from now on." She says, simply.

I nod.

"When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?" She asks.

"Fuck. Going hardcore tonight, huh?" I say, she chuckles. "Well, by myself is more easy to remember. About six months ago, I had a nightmare about Riley. But in front of someone is more tricky."

I think for a little while trying to remember something more recent but can only remember one time in 'recent' memory.

"Five years ago. Winter of '33. The cannibals. I'd just hacked David to pieces in a fit of blind rage and Joel dragged me off his lifeless corpse. After I'd realized it was Joel, I just broke down a cried as he held me. He had to carry me out of there because I just couldn't move." I say.

"It's been that long. I know that's a bad night for you but you haven't cried in front of anyone, not even Joel since then?" She asks.

"No." I say, solemnly.

Dina only hums in response before staying silent for a minute.

"Last time in front of someone was Jesse, back when we lost Sarah. By myself… two weeks ago. Nightmare about Mom." She says.

I set my glass on the couch and lay my hand on her calf.

She smiles before reaching forward for my glass and moving it to the table.

"What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?" She asks.

"That's a strange question." I say, eyes focused on her.

She only shrugs as a response.

"Well, I guess, the deaths of those we've lost."

"Agreed." Dina says, simply.

I nod, accepting it as her answer.

"Of all the people close to you, whose death would you find the most disturbing? Why?" She asks.

"You. Probably just because you're my age. Sure I'd be devastated by Joel but you… I would be disturbed." I say.

"Same. And for the same reason but also because you just seem so invincible a lot of times." She says.

I chuckle a little at that, remembering plenty of times when I did not feel invincible by any sense of the word.

"Your house catches on fire. After saving loved ones, you have time to save any one item. What would you save? Why?" She asks.

I hum in thought.

"Well, it'd be between my switchblade and Riley's dog tags if we're assuming that I'm like naked too. I have those on me except when I'm sleeping so I'm guessing it's that kind of scenario, right?" I say, thinking out loud.

"Yes. You don't have to be naked but let's say, sports bra and boxers. Nothing else." She says, winking.

"All right." I say, chuckling. "I'd probably pick the switchblade because I'd probably be thinking about functionality as well."

Dina laughs lightly.

"You would think about that." She says. "I'd probably take my dad's old pocket watch. It has a picture of him and my mom in it. It doesn't work anymore but it's the only thing that really matters to me."

"I've never seen it before. You don't carry it with you?" I ask.

"No, I haven't for a while. I used to but after I started to feel at home here I figured it'd be best to leave it here. I'd hate for it to get stolen." She says. "I'll show it to you in the morning. I don't want to get up again."

I chuckle at that, nodding.

"If we were to become close friends, what would be important for me to know?" She asks.

I look at her quizzically for a second.

"We're not close friends?" I ask.

"Hmm…" She starts, tapping her finger to her mouth in thought.

"Dick." I say, smiling.

She returns a smile.

"I guess the question means more like, is there anything you've never told anyone else that you'd want your best friend, me, to know." She says, smirking toward the end.

I smile at her antics before thinking on the new information a minute.

"I've told you a lot of things that I've never told anyone else, including my thoughts about returning to the Fireflies, if Joel ever died. I'm not really sure what else I could say. Honestly I'm closer with you than I have ever been with anyone else. Riley. Joel. Doesn't matter." I say.

A silence falls between us and I'm worried I was too forward with her.

"Thank you for being so candid." She says, finally.

"Sure." I say.

Dina is quiet for another minute before speaking again.

"I'm kind of terrified that I'll end up with Jesse even though I know he's not for me. I'm worried I'll settle because I don't want to be alone." Dina says.

"I understand. But just so you know… you'll never be 'alone' alone. You'll always have me. I'm invincible, remember?" I say.

She laughs with full spirit. Something I haven't seen her do in a while. I'm glad I could make her happy like that.

"Ok last question, if you were to die tonight without talking to anyone, what would you regret not having told someone? Why haven't you told them yet?" She asks.

"I wouldn't have regrets for things I haven't told someone. I have very specific reasons when I decide not to tell someone something." I say.

"That's kind of a cryptic answer." She says, after realizing I was done talking.

"Yeah, well, you've given me a couple cryptic responses before. I think I can give one." I say, smirking.

"Oh, fine. Keep your secrets." She says, chuckling.

"I will." I say.

"I would regret not telling you where my home was located. If I died, I'd want you to go visit it for me. I haven't told you because I'd prefer we go together." She says, simply. I feel like there should be more to her answer but I leave it.

I hum.

Dina settles more into the couch and readjusts her legs. I pull the blanket covering me off, which causes Dina to look at me, but then I lay it back down over both of us.

"So you're content now?" I ask, pointedly.

"Meaning?" She asks.

"You know everything you want to know about me?" I say.

"For now." She says, smirking before leaning her head back and closing her eyes. "Night, Ellie."

"G'night, Dina." I say, settling into the couch myself.

 **A/N:** A couple points.

Bloaters spore bombs don't infect people in the game but I can't imagine that their spore bombs wouldn't actually infect people in a real world setting so that's why Ellie shouted for everyone to put on their masks.

Crown Royal is a whiskey. I'm not endorsing it, I just searched some of the popular whiskey brands which I figured would be more likely to be findable.

Review if you desire. Have a lovely day. I leave you with a quote.

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you." - Carl Sandburg


	5. Chapter V

**A/N:** I don't own any of the characters, they're owned by Naughty Dog.

Also the song lyrics are from the song from the E3 trailer. The song is called "Little Sadie" by Crooked Still, which I obviously do not own either.

Enjoy.

2039 - SPRING

The inner gate looks strong as ever and I've been debating over the last few minutes about whether to sneak out. I kind of want to go for a swim. After Dina finally taught me last summer, I've been trying to go regularly to help get over my fear of drowning. Water is kind of the safest place from infected since they don't seem smart enough to swim.

Dina has been acting kind of strange over the last month. I can't really pinpoint what it is but she's been somehow more affectionate. Or maybe I'm imagining things. I'm not one to shy away from her affection, but she also seems to be making oddly sexualized comments to or around me. I guess it comes with the territory of being a horny fucking teenager or whatever but I can't take anything she says without innuendo it seems. I mean sure we like fucking with each other to make the other as uncomfortable as possible but I'm usually on the end of the major discomfort.

To say it's been hell is an understatement, especially every time Jesse comes over and she acts like she always has around him.

"Hey there." Dina says, throwing her arm around my shoulder, in typical fashion.

"Hey." I say, wrapping an arm around her waist as she's trained me to do, no matter how weird it sometimes feels. She's assured me that she wants me to be more physically affectionate with her.

"What are you doing over here? Checking out some ladies?" She asks, smirking.

"You know there's no ladies but you that interest me here." I say.

"Ellie Williams. Are you coming onto me?" She says, raising her other hand to cover her mouth in mock surprise.

"I'm no home-wrecker… but yes you caught me." I deadpan.

"So what are you really doing over here?" She asks.

"Debating on sneaking out to go swimming nearby." I say.

"Really? Why would you want to sneak out to go swimming?" She asks, smirking.

"I just want to go to the channel at the base of the dam. I'm feeling kind of restless and want to burn off some energy." I explain.

"All right, you got a handgun on you?" Dina asks.

"Yeah, of course." I say, lifting my shirt to show it tucked into my pants.

"Good thing you don't have a dick to shoot off." Dina says, staring at the exposed gun before bringing her eyes back up to mine.

"How exactly am I supposed to store it? It's either here or my ass and I think this is more easily accessible." I say.

Dina steps forward and grabs my forearm, moving it so that my shirt it back down, covering the gun once more.

"It's fine. I just know most of the guys prefer to store theirs in the back. It caught me off guard. Let's get going." Dina says, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the cow patch. It's the easiest way to get out of the compound and she probably has the keys.

"Wait, you're coming? Why?" I ask.

"Why not? I haven't gone swimming since the weather was last nice enough for it." Dina says.

"All right. Where's your gun?" I ask.

Dina lifts her shirt with a smirk and shows the small handgun tucked into the front of her jeans, a similar position to mine.

"Giving me shit about shooting off my non-existent dick and you're doing the same thing?" I ask, mumbling.

"Don't you start with me." Dina says, tugging me toward the cow patch once more.

* * *

We successfully elude the tower guards and make our way down to the base of the dam. After reaching the concrete divider, I start stripping my shirt off.

"What are you doing?" Dina asks, sounding a little uneasy.

"We agreed last time that we couldn't go back with wet clothes. I'm just following the rules." I say, throwing my flannel on the ground before removing my t-shirt in a swift movement.

"Right." Dina says, dragging out the I of the word.

This is what I'm talking about. She's acting so strange.

I kick off my shoes before unbuttoning and sliding my pants off, leaving me in my sports bra and boxers. Once my pants are off, I realize that my handgun doesn't feel as secure in it's current position. That's when an idea strikes me. I pull my gun out of the band of my boxers, check to make sure the safety is still on, then hold open the back of my sports bra with one hand and tuck the gun in between my shoulder blades before letting my sports bra tighten around it. I do a little bounce and then smile to myself.

"Fuck." Dina says behind me.

I unsheathe my gun from my bra and turn around in a split second. I look around and see that there doesn't seem to be any immediate danger. I move over to the railing and over the side, scanning all the nearby area. My brows crinkle in confusion.

"What's wrong?" I ask, sheathing my gun back where I had it.

"Nothing, it's just…" Dina starts, her face is a little pink. I wonder if she's a little cold.

"Just what?" I ask.

"Have you been working out? You seem… different from the last time we went swimming." She says.

"Working out?" I ask, looking down at myself. I feel like I haven't really changed since last summer. I think for a few seconds. "I've been doing pull-ups and pushups almost everyday since last summer after Joel stopped going on runs. He says that the only thing the bandits have on me is strength so he asked me to start doing that. You know Joel. He worries about me."

"That's probably it." Dina says, slowly looking me over. "Why didn't you ever mention that Joel had you start doing that?"

"I think the first few days I started was when you went on a long run with Jesse and Michael and by the time you got back I wasn't hurting anymore. I guess I started to not think about it. Now I kind of do it without thinking. It kind of helps me wake up in the morning." I explain.

"So you're still doing it?" Dina asks.

"Yeah. Every morning pretty much unless I was drinking the night before. It really helps on the nights I wake up from a nightmare. So it's really noticeable?" I say, still not really seeing it as I look at myself in the water.

Dina hums an affirmative before going back to taking off her own clothes.

I don't really understand what's going on with her. I decide to ignore it and dive into the water.

* * *

The spotlight shines brightly against the rest of the dark forest, illuminating the area. I've been doing double shifts on the southeast watchtower, overnight and early morning duty for the last week because the regular guys have something called strep throat. It's highly contagious so they've been quarantined in their houses but I heard they were on the mend. It's really boring but Tommy said that he couldn't find someone else to cover.

A clack sounds on the roof of the tower box and I jump to attention, shining the spotlight around. Another clack rings and it sounds like the noise came from behind me. I turn around and pull a flashlight off my belt, not wanting to shine the spotlight into the houses at the late night hour.

Dina is on the ground waving me down. I look at the other two closest towers and they are scanning around. I descend the long attached ladder and walk up to the inner fence.

"Hey stranger." Dina says, smiling. "Glad I found you. Hadn't seen you all week and then I asked around, finding out you were up here."

"Yeah. Double shifts all week. Eric and Mark have strep throat which is super contagious I guess. So what's going on?" I ask.

"Nothing much. I broke up with Jesse a few days ago. Thought you were out on a long run with your team but then I saw Jeremy and Sarah helping in the mess hall today. I figured I should find you." She says.

I'd heard that her and Jesse broke up again. This has been their longest stretch so far. I was kind of avoiding her even when I wasn't doing these shifts because she's always sad for a couple weeks until they get back together. I can't ever seem to make her feel better during those times. She seems fine though.

"Well, you found me. What can I do for you?" I ask, glancing quickly over to where my spotlight is shining before looking back to her.

"There's the monthly dance tomorrow night. I wanted to ask you to come." Dina says.

"I don't go to the dances." I say, uneasy.

I haven't danced since it got Riley and me bit.

"Please. Come for me." Dina says.

I breath in sharply, unsure if she realizes what those words are doing to me or if she's fucking with me.

"Dina, I—" I groan.

"Look I can't make you come. I know you told me what happened with you and Riley. I understand your aversion to dancing but I figured maybe I could make dancing fun for you again." Dina says, gently.

Looking between the ground and Dina, I debate for a few seconds.

"Ok." I say.

* * *

A brown liquid swirls in my glass as I lean against wooden stand that seems to be a bar of some kind. There isn't a bartender behind it but I don't mind it. I look out into the crowd, which has stopped dancing as a whole because the music is changing to the next track.

 _Went out one night to make a little round_

 _Met little Sadie and I shot her down_

 _Went back home, jumped into bed_

 _.44 pistol under my head_

This one I did enjoy more than others. It was very upbeat and if I was going to be here at least the world seems to be humoring me in that respect.

 _I woke in the morning bout half past nine_

 _The hacks and the buggies standing in line_

 _Gents and gamblers standing around_

 _Taking little Sadie to her burying ground_

God why am I here? I don't do dances. Well I know technically why I'm here but seriously why am I actually here? Oh speak of the devil. Dina. There's the reason I'm here, dancing away at a ridiculous speed with Trevor. I'm happy to see she's enjoying herself.

 _I began to think of what a deed I'd done_

 _I grabbed my hat and away I'd run_

 _Made a good run, just a little to slow_

 _They overtook me in Jericho_

I take another sip of my drink as I watch the two prance around the whole dance floor. They are covering some distance. Props to Trevor for keeping up with her.

Just after Trevor twirls Dina and they do some other move that I don't even know how to name, Jesse walks up to me and leaning against the counter near me. I readjust a little bit away from him before looking down, acting like I wasn't just staring at his ex.

 _Standing on a corner and reading a bill_

 _And up stepped the sheriff from Thomasville_

 _He said miss is your name Brown_

 _Remember the night you shot Sadie down_

"I hate these things." Jesse says, gesturing to the dance floor.

"Tell me about it." I say, scoffing in agreement.

 _I said oh yes sir but my name is Lee_

 _And I murdered little Sadie in the first degree_

 _First degree and second degree_

 _Got any papers will you read 'em to me_

"Your old man really laid into me today." Jesse says.

Everyone likes talking to me about Joel.

"What happened?" I ask, realizing that most people probably don't know what else they can talk to me about.

 _So they took me downtown and dressed me in black_

 _Put me on a train and started me back_

 _All the way back to the Thomasville jail_

 _Had no money for to go my bail_

"Another big lecture about my patrols. Don't go here. Don't go there. It's funny how involved he gets whenever you're scheduled to go out." Jesse explains.

Yeah that's Joel in a nut shell. Ever since him and I stopped going out together, he's probably come down on Jesse pretty hard to make sure I stay safe.

"Yeah." I say.

Joel was getting to be too old to keep going out with me. I finally convinced him last year that I should join one of the other scavenging teams but it wasn't easy.

 _The judge and the jury they took their stand_

 _The judge had the papers in his right hand_

 _Forty one days, forty one nights_

 _Forty one years to wear the balls and stripes_

"She's, uh… putting on quite the show." Jesse says, probably realizing I wasn't going to say more.

 _Went out one night to make a little round_

 _I met little Sadie and I shot her down_

 _Went back home, jumped into bed_

 _.44 pistol under my head_

The final violin chord plays and Trevors dips Dina flamboyantly in front of the whole dance floor. Everyone starts clapping at the lowest part of the dip, before Trevor pulls a laughing Dina back up.

"I give you guys two weeks until you're back together." I say, realizing it's only a matter of time. They've broken up like six times and they always get back together.

"Not gonna happen." Jesse says then pauses for about three seconds, before asking, "She, uh, say something to you?"

I scoff.

"Make it one week." I say, confident, giving him a reassuring smile.

Dina always goes back to him. He's who she wants.

"Ellie." Dina calls, walking up to me, and I turn my head towards her voice as Jesse straightens up beside me. "Hey. What took you so long?"

Dina grabs my drink with one hand, while grabbing my shoulder for support with the other.

"Well, I'm here, aren't I?" I say.

She tosses the rest of the drink back before sliding her hand down my arm.

"Dina." Jesse says, raising his glass slightly to her.

Dina places my empty glass on the counter behind me.

"Jesse." Dina says, coldly.

Ooo. I'd feel bad but him sweating a little won't hurt. The breakup won't last.

"Come on." Dina says, smiling at me and tugging me by the hand to follow her.

We take a couple steps before we both half turn around as Jesse calls after us, "Hey, don't forget we leave at first light so get some rest."

"Yes, sir." Dina says, giving a mock salute before turning back to continue dragging me to the middle of the dance floor.

This effectively sends Jesse away.

"You're such a dick." I say, amused.

"Come on." She says, smiling as she pulls my arms to her waist. "Don't you start with me."

"Ok. I have a very serious question for you." She starts, laying each of her forearms onto each of my shoulders, and it feels like she's locking her hands together behind my head.

I knit my brows together slightly, kind of wondering what she's going to ask. She looks down to her right before looking back at me seriously. "How bad do I smell?"

I smile at the realization and she smiles in return. I lean forward and take a deep whiff for emphasis. She definitely has that musky sweat smell going on but she and I have definitely smelt worse before but I play along.

"Like a… hot pile of garbage." I say with amused frankness.

"Oh?" She says, with playful frustration. "Ok."

Her grip tightens on my shoulders as she leans forward and drags her cheek against my own. I groan while chuckling.

"How about that?" Dina asks, looking very proud of herself.

"Gross." I say, scrunching my nose.

I look down to her shoulder and then back to her eyes.

"You love it." She says.

She inches closer to me so that she can rest her head on my shoulder as we sway. Did we have to dance to this song? Not that I would've been worth anything compared to Trevor in the last song but god, a slow song where we just sway. I can't focus on this.

"Every guy in this room is staring at you right now?" I say, in a perfectly executed self sabotage fashion. I'm almost impressed, but I can't get my hopes up. She loves flirting with me and going back to Jesse. Which is fine, he's what she wants.

She lifts her head from my shoulder, and kind looks at me through her peripherals.

"Maybe they're staring at you?" She says.

"They're not." I say, almost scoffing out loud at the idea.

"Maybe they're jealous of you?" She says.

"I'm just a girl." I say, pausing before making the point. "Not a threat."

At this, Dina pulls back so that we're face to face again. She reaches up and tucks a strip of hair behind my ear before laying her hand lightly against my neck.

"Oh, Ellie." She says, in a tone I can't quite place, almost… endearing? "I think they should be terrified of you."

My brows crinkle at her statement; they should be terrified of me? Why? She's looking at me kind of strange. The hand lightly holding my neck moves to the back of my neck and she leans forward.

She kisses me.

Wait? She's fucking kissing me? I. I don't… understand. Wait, focus. She pauses, as if giving me the opportunity to back away. That's not happening on my end.

I lean forward and capture her lips, enjoying the feel of us moving together.

Dina pulls back. I look at her waiting for her to say something that'll make sense.

"See. I told you." She starts, confusion still at the forefront my mind. "They should be terrified."

Realization dawns on me and I smile.

 **A/N:** I know this chapter was probably a little boring since it was the trailer in word form. I debated on ending it before the trailer but figured it was easy enough to add.

This story was largely based around this article, **36** **Questions That Lead To Love** (published on nytimes site), which circulated from a paper. The paper, or a related article, does state that these questions don't necessarily lead to love but more open us up to being vulnerable with someone, which could be a benefit for a friendship or a partnership. Just something to keep in mind. These questions aren't an end all to find love.

Anyway, I do plan to continue on after this with a second series or maybe a series of one-shots where this is the baseline but it might not be out for a while. It makes more sense for me to separate it from here since I wasn't sure how to move forward. Review if you desire. Have a lovely day. I leave you with a quote.

"Anything less than mad, passionate, extraordinary love is a waster of time. There are too many mediocre things in life to deal with and love shouldn't be one of them." - Tiffanie DeBartolo


End file.
